Synth
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: Professor Matina Montoya has been placed in charge of studying a Gem clone named Fordite. This anomaly lacks a mouth, and suffers nightmares of a war she's never faced. As a newfound curiosity is placed in Steven, can he uncover the truth about this clone Gem? With a discovered connection to Rose Quartz, should he tell the Crystal Gems about Fordite? [WIP][Read and Review!]
1. Surprise

_It should not matter whether or not this creature was a genetic anomaly created by man; what should matter was that she was alive. Isn't that enough to inspire you idiots to keep her that way?_

 _-Professor Matina Montoya_

. . .

My mother liked to tell me that we Montoya women were not quite women, exactly, we were more like forces of nature that broke down whatever walls it took to progress through our stages in life. She used to tell me that I was an earthquake; constantly moving, always shaking someone's views or values in ways they never thought possible. With my mother being just that, my mother, I never really took her seriously. Me, being compared to an earthquake? Why couldn't she call me a tornado or something? Come on Mom, what's your reasoning behind that?

But I digress.

Any way, I work on the development and study of biological DNA reproductions. Clones. I make clones. It's actually not such a bad job. Not everything is perfect though, there are days that I've lost my lunch because of something we were working on. Like any other science, it takes a lot of trial and error. Error is usually what a day normally brings, much to the disgust of everyone else in our division.

Last night I was called to the lower Delmarva area for consultation of a project they were working on near Beach City. They told me that they had perfected a clone of some ancient DNA they had found ages ago; of course the statement interested me, but I thought they were talking about something that was like a dinosaur or some other extinct thing. No. It wasn't like that at all.

 _She_ wasn't like that at all.

. . .

Professor Matina got out of her air-conditioned car and was instantly greeted with the harsh, unfriendly, and horribly hot air that infected the beach-ridden areas of Delmarva during the summer. As much as it bothered her, it didn't really.

"Ah, Miss Montoya!" a voice greeted from nearby. "So nice you could meet us here on such short notice!"

Professor Matina turned to see a man with a black business suit coming toward her. At his side was a girl that wasn't much higher than his mid-torso. The girl was odd, to say the least, looking at if someone has just handed her an odd assortment of clothes and she managed to put them all on. Professor Matina raised an eyebrow but said nothing against it; fashion wasn't where her hobbies lie.

"It's a pleasure to meet you too Doctor Digen." Professor Matina then said, extending her arm so the man would accept the handshake. "You didn't inform me that you were going to be with a child."

"This creature?" Doctor Digen asked, pointing to the girl. "If she think that she truly is just a girl then you're in for a huge surprise madam!"

"Pardon?"

The girl gave Professor Matina a rather slow blink before she started to remove the scarf that was wrapped around her mouth and the tip of her nose. Professor Matina jumped back in shock when she saw that the girl did not have a mouth.

"What… on… earth?!" Professor Matina exclaimed in surprise as the young girl replaced the scarf. " _This_ is the clone that you want me to observe?! She's so… so…!"

Doctor Digen only smirked at Professor Matina's astonishment and horror.

"We haven't quite nailed down what makes her genetically similar to the original DNA, but for now you can try her out and observe any anomalies that may arise," he informed to deaf ears. "We have called her Detroit Agate, or Fordite. You may use whichever code name you wish on your observation notes- quite frankly it doesn't matter which one you use to us as long as the paperwork is turned in at a reasonable time."

Professor Matina did not answer, and only stared at the girl. In turn, the girl stared right back with a look that was worn and saddened. Professor Matina swallowed back dry saliva and knew what she had to do.


	2. Character

This… girl wasn't a girl. She was a clone apparently made from some kind of DNA from an alien race called 'Gems'. As much as this made sense to me, it still didn't ease my thoughts much on how this creature was supposed to grow and learn.

The clone did not have a mouth, and she hides the idea behind a scarf. The scarf covered the bottom of her chin to the tip of her button nose. As if in compensation, her eyes pierce at your soul with whatever emotion she wants to show; and for now it is nothing but bitterness. Her hair is so lifeless, although it is possible that it has a slight wave to it- the color seems just as lifeless as it takes on a pale pink, although in a brighter light is comes off as an off-white color. Her skin… At first I thought it was simply a trick of lighting when I first saw her, but her skin is light gray. Of all the things about her –including how thin she is and other factors that would label her as a sickly child- the abnormal color of her skin is what unsettles me the most. I look at her skin and I feel as if it is as sickly as the rest of her, as if it's meant to be a more vibrant color that illustrates the perfection of health and life.

All I know about her at this point is that she knows how to read and write. It comes in handy, but when I conduct an on-the-spot interview then it tends to be more of a nuisance and is quickly deemed impractical. As little as I know about her at this point, she seems to know even less about herself. I've seen her hesitate when I ask her questions about the DNA that was needed to produce her. It's… actually rather heartbreaking. My parents were always open to me about my family and the stupidities that followed by their actions- but I never once thought that there could have been someone some where out in the universe that didn't know a thing about their ancestry. I think I want to help her, maybe help her find a family. But I have one thing I want to do first, something that will help improve her communications during our interviews;

I'm going to teach her sign language.

. . .

In Steven's world, things were going along pretty well. School had started for Connie again, but they had promised that on the weekends they would meet up and just goof around. As long as Steven wasn't with the Crystal Gems and saving the world, that is. Today marked the first week of the new school year, and that meant only one thing;

Ice cream and video games!

"I don't like this game very much." Connie said to no one in particular as her and Steven's avatars roamed around in sandbox mode.

"Why?" Steven inquired, who found that he was quite comfortable with what they were doing at the moment.

"Well, I guess it's because of story mode." Connie admitted with a shrug. "I mean, most of the story is told to us in these cutscenes. Most of those cutscenes have no reason to even be there- not to mention that most of the animation for the in-game cutscenes are horrible! Then there's the actual story; whose idea was it to make the main character have a sister that has NO importance to the main plot whatsoever?! She's not even a good addition to the party, she doesn't have any arms!"

"Doesn't she help bring that guy back to life around the end of the story though?" Steven asked.

"She didn't need to!" Connie insisted. "Not only does that guy still die by post credits, but they had the cure that would have helped him more right there! Her character was not sympathetic at all, it's like there wasn't even a character there, just a… a wall! No, I take that back! A wall had more personality than she did!"

Steven thought about this for a moment, then started to open his mouth to give an opinion but was cut short by the ringtone on Connie's phone. Connie took one look at the caller ID, noticed who it was, then answered the call.

"Hello?" Connie said into the smart phone. "Mom? I was hanging out over at Steven's today like we agreed, remember?"

Steven put their game on pause as he watched Connie talk to her mother on the phone. A look of certain annoyance quickly turned into one of surprise.

"She was coming in _today_?" Connie asked, sounding as if she had genuinely forgot something. "I'm really sorry Mom, I'll be there as soon as I can. Bye!"

"What did your mom want?" Steven asked curiously as Connie started to head out.

"One of her old friends was coming into town to look after this orphan that was in the hospital for awhile." Connie told him. "She wanted me to greet her friend when she got here and show her around town a little."

"I can help you show them around too!" Steven piped up happily.

"I don't think Mom's going to appreciate that very much…" Connie told him with a wary side glance.

"Come on," Steven said to her, "It'll be fun. And there's going to be two of them, right? Well, the two of us can help show them around and everything. With both of us, they'll know so much about Beach City on their first day here tomorrow will seem like they've been here forever to them!"

Connie bit her lower lip in thought. Steven had a valid point, and her mother didn't technically say whether or not is was okay to have Steven help show her friend around, so…

"Come on." Connie told Steven with a playful sigh. "Let's get going before Mom calls again because we're late."

Steven's face lit up like stars in the dark night with happiness.


End file.
